The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there read more

The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not.

Being intelligent is not a felony. But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor.

Being intelligent is not a felony. But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor.

You've got to watch your mind all the time or you'll awaken and find a strange picture on your press.

You've got to watch your mind all the time or you'll awaken and find a strange picture on your press.

To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of the ability to unlearn old falsehoods.

To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of the ability to unlearn old falsehoods.

To be fully alive is to feel that everything is possible.

To be fully alive is to feel that everything is possible.

Probably the difference between man and the monkeys is that the monkeys are merely bored, while man has boredom plus read more

Probably the difference between man and the monkeys is that the monkeys are merely bored, while man has boredom plus imagination.

In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes- courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, and so on- read more

In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes- courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, and so on- can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us. Compassion is the antitoxin of the soul: where there is compassion, even the most poisonous impulses remain relatively harmless.

Opposition to the truth is inevitable, especially if it takes the form of a new idea, but the degree of read more

Opposition to the truth is inevitable, especially if it takes the form of a new idea, but the degree of resistance can be diminished- by giving thought not only to the aim but to the method of approach. Avoid a frontal attack on a long established position; instead, seek to turn it by flank movement, so that a more penetrable side is exposed to the thrust of truth. But, in any such indirect approach, take care not to diverge from the truth- for nothing is more fatal to its real advancement than to lapse into untruth.

There is nothing so awkward as courting a woman whilst she is making sausages.

There is nothing so awkward as courting a woman whilst she is making sausages.